Thread by @the_beeguy

So let’s talk about #honeybees in the context of ‘Saving the Bees’.
Let’s cut the bull & cut to the chase as there’s way too much confusion/misinformation out there which is a hinderance to & detrimental to genuine bee saving.
Please #retweet to help the bees that need it!
1/17

Context:
There are 3 basic types of bee on the planet.
#Solitarybees.
#Bumblebees.
#Honeybees.
Of the 20,000+ species of bee only 8 are honey #bees.
Around 40% of bee species are under pressure worldwide.
Honey bees are not in trouble.
Repeat.
Honey bees are not in trouble.
2/17

Honey bees are primarily a ‘kept species’. There have never before been so many #honeybees on the planet.
It is estimated that there are 100 million + hives on the planet. It’s a multi billion euro/dollar industry. It is not #nature or natural. These are farmed creatures.
3/17

Now this is not a rant against beekeeping. Many beekeepers follow us & agree with our messaging. We are not anti beekeeping.
This is rather a shout out to truth & clarity when it comes to the #bees that are actually in trouble - native wild bees - bumblebees & solitary bees.
4/17

The language around bees is alarmingly ignorant. People say bee when referring to honey #bees not realising or bothered that there are so many other species of bee. When talking about honey bees say honey bees. Why does this matter? Because when people hear ‘save the bees’…
5/17

…many presume bees means honey bees. Absolutely incorrectly.
So when people then decide to ‘help the bees’ they presume they should help #honeybees (not in trouble if you remember) and so take actions that don’t actually help the bees that are indeed in trouble but which…
6/17

in many cases are actually detrimental to bumblebees & solitary #bees.
An example of this is deciding to install a honey bee hive in their garden or on their business premises to ‘help the bees’. And don’t even get me started on supposed nature reserves who knowingly get..
7/17

…involved in this. There is no place on a nature reserve for kept honeybees. It’s a lie.
Many eNGOs and bee advocacies have been complicit in this myth that has been allowed to flourish that honey #bees are an answer. They are simply not engaged enough or brave enough to…
8/17

…seek out and tell the truth. To us this is unforgivable given the state of #bees and #nature.

So if you bear with me let’s do some simple figures to show why ever more hives of honey bees are exacerbating the problem and are in no way part of the solution.
9/17

A healthy hive can have up to 60,000 resident honey bees.
So let’s be fairer than fair & say that a hive has 30,000 honey bees. Now let’s say that only 1/3rd of these #bees are actively foraging - again a very low estimate - that means 10,000 bees foraging.
Each bee will…
10/17

…make about 1000 flower visits in a day.
See where this is going?
Yep that equates to 10,000,000 flower visits per day. Just for one hive.
10 million.
Now let’s take that number of flower visits in the context of a landscape that has seen diminishing floral resources…
11/17

…over the past century.
What we get is more creatures foraging on fewer flowers.
This is the problem.
If you introduce a hive into an area it puts even more pressure on the wild bees in that area.
Not a hard concept to grasp is it? And this is before we even start to…
12/17

…factor in the potential for spreading disease as hives are moved around and long term changes to local flora due to the influence of introduced honey bees.
Don’t believe me? Google it.
There’s loads of research out there. More needed.
13/17

So if you really want to help native wild bees:
Don’t keep hives keep flowers.
Wildflowers. This will mean you will ultimately keep native wild bees. You’ll help bumblebees & solitary bees. The #bees that are actually in trouble.
Resist the ‘save the bees’ industry that is
14/17

…monetising a lie and the gullibility of a general public that is ill-informed of the actual problem. Hives make money for someone. Hives make things worse. Saving bees campaigns run by large eNGOs with honey bees on the poster raise donations.
What these things don’t do…
15/17

…is make it better for native wild #bees. They make it worse.

So for sure keep hives and honey bees if you want. No issue with that.
But don’t dress your hobby/business up as a solution.
It’s not.
At least admit it’s potentially part of the problem.
At least that.

16/17

If you think hives are the answer you didn’t understand the question.

As ever I don’t seek likes/retweets for ego - so couldn’t be arsed.

But I am arsed about endangered #solitarybees/#bumblebees.
About endangered #truth.

Be arsed for #bees too.
Please share.
#retweet
17/17